Thirouin, Laurent

Idolatry of truth versus idolatry of obscurity - 2021.


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Can truth become some sort of idol? Pascal’s statement in fragment 755 is paradoxical and shocking enough to have drawn interest from critics of his work. This study reviews the various interpretations of this text, and focuses on its second part, where idolatry of truth is compared to idolatry of obscurity. What is the exact link between the two parts of fragment 755? The term “obscurity” is usually misinterpreted as belonging to the semantic field of truth. But a careful examination of this text and an inquiry into the classical lexicon prove that this hypothesis is not valid. The real subject matter of this thought is not truth, but idolatry.